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Exploring death customs in the UK and China, from approaching death to superstitions. Learn about funeral arrangements, wills, and burial practices in these cultures.
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Death • Approaching death • Sometimes the possibility of death is a taboo subject, but it can help the dying person and their family if approaching death is acknowledged.
Where should care be given? • Home • Hospital • Hospice • Unexpected death e.g. accidents, violence are more difficult for families.
Death in China • Is death ‘taboo’ in China, or is it something that people can talk about easily? • In China, how are people who are ill and are dying cared for?
Registering the death • The death must be registered at a Registrar’s Office. • A doctor must say what the cause of death was. • The death certificate is needed before the funeral can be arranged or the estate is sorted out.
Burial or cremation? • Burial is now less common because of changing attitudes and lack of space for graves: 75% of people in the UK are now cremated. • After cremation, the family have to decide where to inter the ashes: graveyard, garden, at sea or in the countryside. • Burials are more expensive because of the cost of land and of a gravestone, and the coffin is usually more expensive. • A few people now choose a green burial, in the countryside, without a headstone.
Burial in China • What is the most common form of burial in China? • Is cremation common? • Where are most people buried?
Who can help? • Undertakers take care of the body and provide the coffin • Clergy can help in the planning of the funeral
The funeral: purpose • To mourn • To remember • To celebrate and thank God • To ask God to receive the soul of the departed • To support friends and family
The funeral service • Traditional prayers, hymns and readings may be used but secular poems and music may be used. • There may be a sermon or a eulogy. • Sometimes people plan their funeral in advance. • People will usually wear black or another dark colour. • Family and friends may arrange for flowers to be brought to the funeral. Some are placed on the coffin. • Sometimes the funeral will be private, followed by a memorial service.
After the funeral • Usually friends and family are invited to meet and share some food, perhaps sandwiches and tea. • Sometimes a wake is held and alcohol is drunk.
The Will • Some people write a will, saying what they want to happen to their money and possessions. • People usually leave most of their property, money and possessions to family members. • Sometimes people ask for some or all of their money to be given to charity.
Dying intestate (with no Will) • If the deceased has a husband or wife, all or part of their estate will to go to him or her and the rest to the children of the marriage. • It can be more complicated, even unfair, if the deceased was separated, divorced or never married. • In 2009 56% of adults had not made a will.
Superstitions • Superstitions are found in every culture. They are beliefs that originated in magic or religion, which don’t seem to have a reasonable basis nowadays. • Here are some English superstitions: can you guess the origins? • You shouldn’t walk under a ladder. • A broken mirror brings bad luck. • Horse-shoes and four-leaf clovers are symbols of good luck.
Superstitions – cont’d • You shouldn’t follow a black cat, • although black cats are sometimes • considered lucky. • Thirteen is an unlucky number; Friday 13th is regarded as an unlucky day • Don’t open an umbrella indoors. • You should say “bless you” when someone sneezes. • If you spill salt, you should throw it over your shoulder.
Superstitions in China • What numbers are considered ‘lucky’? Why? • What numbers are considered ‘unlucky’? Why? • Are there any superstitions you follow before a wedding – eg placing red squares of paper on manholes? Why? • Are there other common things that are considered ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’?
